


Blossoming

by Multishipperlove



Series: Tumblr Prompts [11]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Background Nott/Yeza, Flower Language, Gen, Hair Braiding, Nott pining for Caleb, Pre-Canon, Reminiscing, That's also kinda in the background though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:55:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25821733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multishipperlove/pseuds/Multishipperlove
Summary: It's the early days of Nott and Caleb travelling together, and sometimes it's the little things that still remind Nott of home.
Relationships: Nott | Veth Brenatto & Caleb Widogast
Series: Tumblr Prompts [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1623151
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36





	Blossoming

**Author's Note:**

> For the writing prompts: Caleb & Nott and uuuhhh hair braiding!
> 
> Also largely inspired by [this lovely artwork](https://galacticjonah.tumblr.com/post/173390245057/the-most-powerful-spell-out-there), even though it doesn't show any braiding.

Nott had just finished cooking dinner as Caleb made it back to their camp, hair still dripping wet but already dressed, his arms bandaged up again. Coming across the small stream in the woods had been their first opportunity to take a bath in several days, and the wizard had taken it gladly, contrary to Nott who was still too wary about water to immediately go with him. Luckily, they had long decided not to ask too many questions about each other’s weird habits.

Seeing him now she motioned for him to come over and join her at the fire, already filling a bowl for him with the stew she’d made. Caleb thanked her with a smile. “You need to dry your hair, or you’ll get sick,” she told him, still dreadfully remembering the one summer where Luc had- well, now wasn’t the time to think about that. Not as long as she could still tell herself that the only reason she looked out for the human was because one day, he could be the ticket back to her family.

Caleb nodded slightly, but didn’t make any move to follow the advice yet. “The fire will keep me warm enough for now,” he assured her, seemingly more interested in his food. “I will also need a haircut soon, it has gotten rather long in the last few months. I didn’t even notice until today.”

Nott gave him a sceptical look. “Really? Wasn’t it always this long?”

“I used to keep it rather short before- well, not before you met me, but when I was younger,” he told her, voice softening a bit but not growing tense yet, as it often did when his past came up. “I am still getting used to this.”

“If it’s just the length, I could braid it for you,” Nott offered. “At least that would keep it out of your face.”

“Really?” he asked, almost sounding a little surprised. “I mean- yes, of course. I don’t see why not. That might be nice. I didn’t know you knew how to do that.” 

Nott opened her mouth, about to reply that please, Halflings were known in some parts of the Empire for complicated braiding work and interesting hairdos, but then actually remembered that she wasn’t a Halfling anymore. She was Nott. The words got stuck in her throat, and only when Caleb gave her another confused look did she hastily clear her throat to cover it up. “Well, you know… Goblins have hair too” she muttered, effectively shutting him up after he stammered out an apology for his prejudice.

They spend most of their dinner in silence after that, though it wasn’t an uncomfortable one. The constant travel was tiring, so Nott just blamed it on exhaustion and the rare opportunity of a good meal after a long day. Once they were done, and once Caleb had taken care of the dishes while Nott set up their sleeping spaces, they settled down together again and she came to stand behind him, carefully running her claws through his hair to detangle it a little.

“It’s not all that long, but I think I can do something with it,” she muttered, remembering some of the braids her mother had done for her as a young child, and the time she’d taught herself how to do them after her brothers had cut huge parts of her hair off in a prank gone wrong. And despite the changed form, the movements still came easily to her, her muscle memory apparently unchanged as she worked the red strands into delicate patterns. It was a small relief, in the greater scheme of things.

Caleb had moved on to reading by now so they were both still mostly working in silence, only broken by Nott a couple of times when she reminded him to sit still. About twenty minutes later she had woven a crown braid around the back of his head, managing to tuck all the hair in neatly without any loose strands. It looked nice, and definitely functioning enough to keep the hair out of his face, but it still felt like something was missing. Looking around the clearing they were in, it didn’t take her long to find it.

“Wait here and don’t move, I’ll be right back,” she muttered, only getting a soft hum in reply that usually meant that Caleb was too distracted by his reading to move far anyway. Satisfied with that answer she left him for a moment, picking up a few of the bright purple flowers that were still blooming only a couple of feet away from them.

“There we go,” she mumbled, mostly to herself, as she arranged the flowers towards the back of his head, making sure they were secure enough to at least hold on for a few hours. They wouldn’t survive the night, she was aware of that, but at least for now they looked pretty. “All done.”

Caleb actually looked up from his reading this time and back to her, giving her that rare smile again that always made her heart beat a little faster. “Thank you, Nott. At least they will stop getting in the way now.”

“Oh, definitely. Do you want to see it though? I have a mirror around here somewhere,” she told him, rummaging around in her bag for a moment before handing it over.

Caleb nodded and took it from her, taking a minute to really look at her handiwork. He seemed pleased, and then genuinely surprised as he saw the flowers. “Oh. Those are nice,” he said softly. “What are they for?”

Nott took a closer look, only now realising what kind of flowers she’d taken. Her cheeks immediately turned a dark shade of green, and she was glad that she was still standing behind Caleb, and not in the view of the mirror. “They’re just periwinkles, they don’t really… they don’t really have a meaning,” she muttered, playing it off with a shrug. “Just pretty.”

Seeming satisfied enough with that answer Caleb just nodded, and then promptly launched into a little explanation of the spell he was currently trying to learn. Nott settled down beside him again, leaning against his side as she let the fire warm her up and listened to him rattling on.

There was no reason to tell him about the meaning of periwinkles when she’d picked them completely at random, she told herself, trying her best to forget about the little vase placed in a house in Felderwin, far far away from where they were travelling at the moment. A little vase that had always been filled with pink periwinkles, since the day they’d moved in, the first flowers that Yeza had ever given her.

Blossoming friendship. Everlasting love. Pleasant Memories.

Coincidence, surely. It couldn’t mean anything else.


End file.
